The money raised by the stock market flotations of private equity-backed
companies across the world almost halved last year, according to Ernst &
Young.

A total of $20.5bn (£12.7bn) was raised globally during 2012, compared with nearly $39bn the previous year.

Jeffrey Bunder, global head of private equity at Ernst & Young, said the fall in deal volumes was a result of “lowered investor confidence” on the back of fears over slowing growth.

“Those deals that priced during the year generally performed well on the first day of trading - and more importantly, the majority of those companies successfully held on to those initial gains,” he said.

On average, private equity-backed companies recorded an 11.4pc increase in their share price on their first day of trading and, on average, generated a return of 14.1pc for investors over the course of the year.

US companies accounted for just over two-thirds of the global total of private equity flotations.